QUALITIES OF STARLIGHT by Gabriel Jason Dean, Vortex Repertory, May 25 - June 15, 2013

 
 (Vortex Repertory Company, 2307 Manor Rd.) 
 presents

A twisted comedy by Gabriel Jason Dean | Directed by Rudy Ramirez
May.25-Jun.15, 2013; Thursdays-Sundays 8 pm

Qualities of Starlight is an award-winning twisted comedy about the expansion of the universe and the contraction of a troubled family. Previously produced in workshop productions in Atlanta and Washington D.C, Qualities of Starlight now debuts at The VORTEX in its definitive version.

Theo Turner is a young cosmologist on the verge. But Theo’s “big bang” isn’t theoretical. His universe explodes when he and his wife travel to the Appalachian South to visit his parents about an impending adoption only to discover that Theo's aging parents are meth addicts. Science crashes violently into nature, identities shift, memories speak, and the future can only be won by renegotiating the past. The cosmos is no more wondrous than a troubled human family improvising its path into the future.

Staring Jennifer Underwood, Dennis Bailey, Toby Minor, and Andréa Suzanne Rebecca Smith. Directed by Rudy Ramirez. Scenic Design by Ann Marie Gordon. Lighting Design by Patrick Anthony. Costume Design by Michelle Symons. Sound Design by David DeMaris. Prop Design by Helen Parish. Dramaturgy by Carrie Kaplan and Natashia Lindsey.

Tickets: $30-$10
$30-$25 Priority Seating, $15-$20 General Admission, $10 Starving Artists
2-for-1 admission on Thursdays and Sundays with donation of 2 canned goods for SafePlace.
Limited seating. Advance Purchase Recommended.

“…a well-crafted…engaging drama…
Qualities of Starlight registers as a welcome find.” ~ Washington Post

“…a thoughtful and entertaining new play…Qualities of Starlight shows people determined to recover from the bruises of the past and move towards a brighter, more hopeful future.”~ DC Theatre Scene

"So dang funny!" ~ VSA Arts of Georgia

Qualities of Starlight is presented with the assistance of SCRIPTWORKS through their FINERPOINT FUND FOR NEW PLAY PRODUCTION and funded and supported in part by VORTEX Repertory Company, a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts, and by the City of Austin through the Economic Growth and Redevelopment Services Office/Cultural Arts Division, believing an investment in the Arts is an investment in Austin's future. 

(Click to go to the AustinLiveTheatre front page)

Just Outside Redemption by Dennis Bailey, Theatre en Bloc at the City Theatre, September 14 - 30

 


by Michael Meigs


In his current All Over Creation essay in the Austin Chronicle Robert Faires muses over the moral dilemma you face when your theatre friends come to you after a performance you didn't particularly care for and expectantly await your reaction. Faires has been on both sides of that dilemma, for in addition to his roles as a reviewer, critic and arts writer he's an actor and a director, opening his staging of the comedy Moonlight and Magnolias for Penfold Theatre next week.


The opening paragraph above might make the Theatre en Bloc folks flinch, but please be reassured, everyone. That's not where I'm going with this. What intrigued me about Faires' meditation wasn't the dilemma he discusses but rather the reason that it occurs at all.


What I've learned through four years of theatre reviewing in Austin is that live theatre is community, whether it's happening on the polished and ever-better-financed stages of the Zach where they changed the logo last year to include the motto "Austin's Theatre" or at the "seat-of-the-pants" productions like Chris Fontanes' Stage that I reviewed last week. Your response to your performer friend, acquaintance or family member really does matter, because you have bonded with that individual both in the world outside and by participating and witnessing the stage experience. In the best of cases, you've even had the close up and personal experience of making theatre art with that performer somewhere else at some other time, investing yourselves in that common, perhaps communal, perhaps community experience.

That doesn't happen with touring shows or national media. After all, Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman probably don't give a rat's ass about what you, personally, think about the Sherlock films from BBC and PBS.

Click to read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Upcoming: Just Beyond Redemption by Dennis Bailey, Theatre en Bloc at the City Theatre, September 13 - 30

JUST OUTSIDE REDEMPTION by Dennis Bailey, Theatre en Bloc, September 13 - 30, Thursdays-Sundays at the City Theatre, 3823 Airport Rd.

Click for additional information

(Click to go to the AustinLiveTheatre front page)